


The miracle of death is precise; astounding everything with its anonymous beauty.

by sugarbloodprincess



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: AV Club Richie Tozier, Agriculture Club Mike Hanlon, Art and Visual Design Club Beverly Marsh, Bird Watching Society Mike Hanlon, Bird Watching Society Stanly Uris, Child Death, Dark Acadamia AU, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Debate Team Captain Eddie Kaspbrak, Dismemberment, F/M, Graphic Violence, History Club Ben Hanscom, Human Pennywise (IT), Im sorry guys georgie doesnt survive, Literature club Bill Denbrough, M/M, Model UN Eddie Kaspbrak, Murder Mystery AU, Prep School AU, Prep! Loser's AU, Theatre Club Richie Tozier, Vomiting, also im like making a bunch of them the kinda white i am which is not white so, also jew-emphasis-on-the-ish richie cuz i shall project my jewish/greek orthodox upbringing onto him, also my characterizations of the losers r gonna be a lil different, also this is a 90s au, and america is confusing nvm rural maine, be ready for those descriptions, cuz im not a yt pepo, cuz that way they have the cellphones that are in clueless, cuz theyre gonna be rich kids ight, mainly cuz i only know how to write certain types of yt peop, my entire vibe is the richie is not white / explain / i dont think i will meme, specifically 1995, tags added as shit comes up, tbh he doesn't get past the first chapter, teen death, the losers club is actually the scooby gang oop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:53:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23575717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarbloodprincess/pseuds/sugarbloodprincess
Summary: excerpt:"Georgie Denbrough is dead.It’s the only thing on everybody’s mind.It’s also the only thing that nobody wants to mention."
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	The miracle of death is precise; astounding everything with its anonymous beauty.

**Author's Note:**

> This is fucked up in a violent way and it happens rly quickly. there are uwu moments but like, these r like a bunch of repressed teens in the 90s tryna deal so... like if ur into that continue i guess. I swear 2 G-d if you cant handle gore or anything kinda fucked up and visual please click out. I wont judge you. Lit rat lee, the second paragraph vividly describes how a dead body is found. and it gets worse from there.  
> ok ily if u read this  
> hmu up on my tumblr @kalokairiart u need to yell ok thanks enjoy.  
> link to the fic playlist:  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6mLqQKxUWIiqhBGe1FJT3i?si=3WtkBRvPSLCwCD4ZDzZweg

It is quiet. 

There’s an unshakeable chill in the air.

The sky is dark and the clouds look heavy. It’s cold for the middle of autumn. It’s like Mother Nature is in mourning. 

The school grounds are full of students but they’re all talking in hushed whispers, as if they’re afraid to break the spell the quiet is casting.

Georgie Denbrough is dead.

It’s the only thing on everybody’s mind.

It’s also the only thing that nobody wants to mention.

Little Georgie Denbrough’s dead body was found over a week ago on campus. No one knows how it happened. All anybody knows is that the day before, he had soccer practice, which had finished early because of the heavy rain. He never made it back to his dorm room on campus because the next day; his corpse was found just beyond the edge of the forest that encompassed the campus. Barely anyone got to see his body before the area was closed off and the school was shut down for a week. All the students that could be sent home were and the ones that couldn’t were not allowed to leave the dorms.

Georgie’s older brother Bill found the body along with his 6 friends; Bill couldn’t find Georgie that morning and decided to look for him – they couldn’t find him anywhere so even though the forest was unlikely and a restricted area they didn’t care.

It took awhile but eventually, within the first one hundred and fifty meters of the dense sprawl of trees, with the morning dew, grass and mud coating their shoes and staining the cuffs of their pants – they finally found him. Stanley had noticed the trail of diluted blood first but Bill was the one who had found him. He ran as fast as he could with the thick and ancient roots that covered the forest floor tripping him up at every turn while the rest of the Losers followed close behind, trying to keep up. Adrenaline pumping through their bodies, vibrating just under the skin making them feel fuzzy and desperate and anxious, still somehow not expecting the worst - maybe he _tripped_ and _fell_ and _got lost_ , maybe he got _injured_ and _passed out_ , maybe he’s _okay_.

As soon as they all saw it, they froze in their tracks. Stunned into place. All their eyes slowly trailing across the ground, following the thick roots and up the tree trunk before settling on the scene before them.

Georgie’s small body hung from a tree, with a large yet spider-like branch impaling him through the sternum. His blood was thinned out and dried coating the branch and the ground below him in dark brown mahogany. The blood thoroughly stains the uniform that was still, somehow, hanging off his body. Georgie’s right arm was missing, the severed joint was covered by the uniform sleeve but it was tattered and drenched, the fabric shifting slightly with the morning breeze.

If it wasn’t the most horrific scene that had ever graced the forest, someone could have called it beautiful – a true act of artistry, it could be placed in a gallery and wouldn’t look out of place. His body, while limp and lifeless, was framed by the yellowing autumn leaves reacting with the morning sun, reflecting off of the morning dew, creating a kaleidoscope of colour that painted the scene before them.

Mike is the first one to break the silence, ‘ _Bill?_ ’ 

‘G-Georgie?!’ the words escape Stan’s mouth.

‘Bill-’ Bev is about to say something but she is interrupted.

‘Georgie- he’s-’ suddenly, Bill breaks, his body no longer containing the strength to hold him up, it’s like both his legs have disappeared from beneath him whilst gravity decided to increase on him at the same time, ‘Oh my G*d-’.

Ben says ‘We- We have to tell someone-’

The group's sporadic words were dispersed by Richie vomiting his stomach acid up and out into some bushes nearby.

‘I’ll run to the teachers quarters,’ Eddie barely gets the words out of his mouth before sprinting off back to the main buildings located in the center of the campus.

‘Eds-’ Richie almost gets a sentence out before he starts dry heaving. He has nothing left inside him. He and his body know this, and yet he can’t stop.

Bill is collapsing in on himself. Hyperventilating. Heavy breaths are desperately dragging through his body all the while curling into a foetal position. Hands clawing at the ground beneath him as his body retracts, dirt and grime compacting in between his blunt fingernails and the skin beneath them. He’s shaking. He looks like he’s about to vibrate out of his skin. 

Mike is snapped out of his teary trance because Bill has started wailing, and choking on the tears and phlegm that are filling up his passageways. He runs forward, collecting Bill in his arms, pulling him close to his chest, trying to offer any amount of comfort that he can, all the while Bill is thrashing against him.

Mike lets out a weak ‘Guys...’ 

The others run to Mike's aid, trying to help Bill in any way they can. They form a strange sort of human compression blanket around him, as if they try to hold Bill tight enough his heart won’t end up shattered and his soul won’t die.

It smells like rot. And stagnant rainwater. And there is the salty tinge of sweat and tears as well. And they’re all shaking trying to hold it together.

They’re stuck there for a while before Eddie comes back with a hoard of teachers and campus security in tow.

All the staff that found them are stunned by the scene before them before the need to enact a duty of care kicks in. It took a lot of willpower on the staff behalf but they finally were able to usher the Losers away from the scene.

They spent what felt like hours in the principal’s office, talking to police as they got their report of the morning’s event sorted and then briefly talking to the school counselor. Bill was the last person to see the counselor, he also had the longest session, with all the Losers waiting outside in the waiting room for Bill to come out before any of them would even dare think of leaving.

They were sent to their dorm rooms after the whole ordeal of talking to the police; every one that had a parent or caregiver that could pick them up was expected to collect them as soon as possible. Stanley gently ushered Bill back to their shared dorm while Mike and Ben dropped Bev off to her before walking back to their own. Eddie and Richie took off together back to their dorm.

-

‘Come on Bill, your parents will be here soon,’ Stan’s voice is soft almost as if he spoke any louder Bill would shatter.

Bill is sitting on his bed, motionless, face blank. Stan is going around their room trying to pack a bag of things Bill will need to take with him before his parents get him.

‘I’m sorry,’ Bill starts, ’I’m so useless. I can’t believe I’m making you do this-’

‘You’re not making me do anything Bill,’ Stan moves close to Bill, ‘You know me Bill, no one can make me do anything I don’t want to. I’m doing this because I care about you and I’m scared.’

‘… Thank you, Stanley… Do you- Do you think Georgie was scared?’ Bill manages to get out in a quiet voice before he starts sobbing again.

Stanley’s heart shatters just a little bit more as he sees the strongest person, he knows, just fall apart in front of him. He wraps his arms around Bill and pulls him tight to his chest.

‘I- I don’t know Bill… All I know is that whatever happened to Georgie, he’s not suffering anymore.’

Bill just continues sobbing into Stanley’s chest while Stanley holds him. 

-

Ben, Bev, and Mike all walked together to the dorm that Beverly was staying in this year. Bev has a boy on each side, they’re both much taller than her so when she wraps her arms around their shoulders, she feels like a child swinging from her parent’s arms. She bounces from foot to foot barely putting any pressure down, her boys doing most of the work. 

‘Are… Are you guys… Okay?’

‘No’

‘Ditto,’ Mike replies.

‘Stupid question, sorry… I wish I didn’t have to leave you guys.’

‘Same. I don’t any of us want to be alone right now,’ Ben replies, ‘I think Bill’s parents will be here soon, Stan’s going to be alone.’ 

‘Don’t worry too much, I’ll probably get Stan to come to our room for the night’

‘Ooooh? Mikey please keep it in your pants for Ben's sake!’ Bev teases.

Mike just lets out a defeated ‘Guys…’ before the group stop in front of the doors that lead up to Beverly’s dorm. 

‘Don’t worry bub, I’m just joking. Anyway, my aunt is only an hour away I’ll probably be gone before supper,’ she says before retracting her arms from the duo’s shoulders, only to turn around and pull them both into a tight hug.

Bev’s hug is squeezing all the air out of Ben but he still manages to say, ‘Text me when you get home safe – you know I’ll worry’

She lets go of Mike before going onto her tiptoes and giving Ben a small peck on the lips, ‘Sure,’ she says on an exhale.

Beverly gives them both a soft smile before taking a couple of steps backwards, the backs of her feet hitting the edges of the cold damp stone steps. She turns around and quickly makes her way up to the large oak double doors and opens one side.

‘Bye,’ she says before going inside and closing the door behind her.

The boys can still see her figure moving behind the stained-glass paneling.

‘Come on Ben, let’s go.’

‘Yeah. Okay.’

-

Richie and Eddie walk back to their dorm room quietly. The air awkward and tense between them. Feeling like a hot fuzz, like static on the skin set off by the dew in the air. All they wanted to do was reach out to one another and comfort each other but the boys couldn’t, at least, not until they got to their rooms – lest someone sees and tells the Bowers gang. Eddie’s heart still feels like it’s about to leap out of his chest. He has to keep reminding himself that he’s not going to have a heart attack, and that it’s not asthma either - He doesn’t have asthma. Richie isn’t saying anything. Richie always says something. But he couldn’t voice anything right now to save his life. His throat has a dryness to it he hasn’t been able to get rid of all day – the taste of bile still coating his mouth. The wooden steps that lead up the stairwell creak under their combined weight – it feels like the building’s moans are mourning with them, after all, Georgie had lived in this building.

They arrive at their room; they open the window in the morning so now there’s a chill and a layer of dampness coating everything. Their clothes are still covered in the mud and grass from this morning.

‘I need a shower’

‘I second that’

‘I feel so gross Richie – I can’t believe they didn’t let us get changed. We’re disgusting.’

Eddie looks towards their shared bathroom, ‘… Can I-?’

‘Yeah, don’t worry about it Eds’

Ignoring the nickname Eddie just whispered a quiet, ‘thanks,’ before escaping to the cleansing relief of a hot shower.

Richie just sits on the edge of his bed. Ankles crossed with his left knee bouncing. Thumbs compressing down onto the fleshy part of his index fingers just above his knuckles as his hands rest on his knees. Eyes closed. Waiting for Eddie to be finished.

The bathroom door opens and what was previously a faint smell of cinnamon, pepper and saffron flood the room.

‘Uh… Your turn.’

Richie essentially bolts into their bathroom, allowing the door to slam behind him – he has a lot of pent up energy, he hates being a sitting duck. Eddie forgot to turn on the fan so the mirror is fogged up - that’s better for Richie anyway. If he had to look at himself right now, he thinks he might start vomiting again. He quickly brushes his teeth – both his Dad and Eddie have warned him countless times about what stomach acid does to tooth enamel. After Richie places his glasses on the counter space next to the sink he turns the shower on full blast at the highest heat it allows. It turns his skin an angry shade of red. The steam is overwhelming and is making him slightly dizzy, but it’s fine (he’s pretending it's fine). The scent of his body wash (a mix of pine, bergamot and peppermint) combined with Eddie’s creates an intoxicating smell that floods his senses. Dirt and grime from the day is collecting underneath his nails as he scrubs his body with his hand’s sans loofa. Nails leaving trails of raised red welts in their place. He knows that Eddie might yell at him for washing his hair two days in a row, but he feels disgusting. Hopefully, Eddie will understand. A dollop of shampoo foams up in his hands before he works it through his thick curls. It takes a while to rinse it all out. Then taking a small amount of conditioner his fingers lazily detangling the curls as the stream continues to beat down on him – most of the conditioner ending up in the drain.

Turning the shower off, Richie just stands there idle, letting the water drip off of him as the steam clears. He quickly towels off before grabbing a pair of track pants that were resting on the top of his laundry bin and pulling them on. He slides his glasses on and eyes the shirt from last night before deciding to wear a clean one. He hangs his towel back up and feels the leftover water from his hair drip down his back. He grabs the jar of solidified coconut oil and wide tooth comb Mikey gave him last year for his 17th birthday (“You don’t have to live like this man. Hydrate your hair. Fix yourself.”) and makes his way out.

When he opens the bathroom door, he feels Eddie’s eyes on him instantly.

‘You took a while? You okay?’

‘Yeah, sorry. You know my hair takes a while…’

‘Oh,’ Eddie’s eyes settle on the jar, ‘do you want me too…?’

‘Uh yeah, if you don’t mind?’

‘Yeah don’t worry,’ Eddie gets up and walks over to Richie and grabbing the jar of coconut oil and comb out of his hands, ‘come on Rich, you know the drill,’ Eddie takes a seat on Richie’s bed and pats the empty space between his legs, his smile tight as he looks up at Richie.

Richie grabs a shirt from his wardrobe and whispers a small ‘Thanks,’ before taking a seat, slightly hunched over so Eddie can reach more comfortably.

‘Open the jar Rich?’ Eddie asks, presenting the jar to Richie by looping it in front of him.

Richie doesn’t reply, he just pops the jar open, taking the lid before giving it back to Eddie.

‘Thanks.’

Eddie takes a small amount of the coconut oil and warms it up in his hands before working it through Richie’s hair – starting at the back and making his way forward. He then takes the comb and works out any remaining knots, Richie got rid of most of the big ones earlier so it doesn’t hurt too much but Eddie still softly apologizes when Richie lets out a stray hiss. Eddie then finds the clusters of hair that curl the same way and wraps them tightly around his fingers before letting them drop.

‘And… There we go,’ Eddie admires his work and Richie looks back to face him, their faces ending up way closer than Richie thought they would be, judging from his expression – eyes wide, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

‘Thank you’

‘It’s fine, Rich…’

The two stare at each other for what feels like forever before Eddie breaks the trance.

‘Uh, my hands are super oily, I’m gonna go wash them’

‘Uh yeah- sure. Uh, put my stuff back?’

‘Yeah, of course,’ Eddie replies and makes his way to the bathroom.

Richie moves around and ends up leaning against the corner where his bed's headboard meets the wall. Grabs a comic book on his bedside table (it’s a slightly older copy of the Spider-Man Clone Saga run) and starts to read. Eddie walks back into the room and hesitates before opening his mouth.

Richie beats him to it, ‘Did you want to-?’

Eddie lets out a small, ‘Yeah,’ and makes his way back to Richie’s bed and takes the space next to him, curling his body into Richie’s right side.

Both boys are tense, they’re both pretending to be fine. They both know they’re not. How could they be? Georgie is dead. He lived 3 floors below them. The last time they saw him was at lunch yesterday and the Losers were teasing him, lovingly, the way they all tease each other, but… did Georgie know that? They can never double-check and reassure him now.

Richie puts the comic down, they’ve both read it a thousand times now so he doesn’t care too much if they don’t read through it completely. He grabs Eddie’s left hand and starts tracing the indent between Eddie’s fore and middle finger with his thumb. It’s nothing but it’s also everything. Eddie crumples. He can’t hold it in anymore. Everything is weighing too much in his mind. The Denbroughs were like his second family. It’s like his little brother is dead. Eddie leans into Richie’s touch, his face colliding with his chest, he’s too short to bury himself in the space between his neck. Richie just pulls him in, all of his limbs keeping Eddie in place while he sobs, cradling his head with the palm of his right hand while fingers play idly with Eddie’s thick locks as their hot breath fogs up Richie’s glasses.

‘He- He was like my b- brother Rich-’

‘I know’

‘He’s gone Rich’

‘I know’

Eddie just continues to shake.

-

Classes were canceled that day.

At the time, no one in the student body really knew why. 

**-**

The funeral was a quick and quiet affair. No one that wasn’t immediate family was invited. The Losers couldn’t come. The Denbroughs had made sure it was a closed casket. They couldn’t handle looking at their precious boy when he looked like that. It didn’t matter how nicely the mortician dressed the body – he didn’t look the same. He never would. 

-


End file.
